On Friday, the doors of the Bowman Cherry Center in Bardstown opened once again, drawing a standing-room-only crowd to a place rich in history and renewed for the future. Several Sisters of Charity of Nazareth who supported the center’s renovation were present for the celebration as the historic site reopened as the Black Citizens Art and Education Center. For many in attendance, the day marked the end of years of work and the beginning of a new chapter for the community.
“It’s been a long road, but we got here,” said Sister Theresa Knabel, who worked closely with the project from its earliest stages.
She reflected on the building’s beginnings more than a century ago, when families sought educational opportunities for their children at a time when access to education was limited. Built between 1905 and 1923, the structure served as the first public school for Black children in Nelson County.
“Generations of children benefited from the education they received in this building,” Sister Theresa said, noting that many former students and their decendants were present at the reopening. “Restoring this building is one way of saying that every child’s future matters. Every family’s legacy matters. We Sisters of Charity of Nazareth are grateful for the opportunity to work with the Black Citizens Arts Council to preserve this heritage and renew this hope for young people today. We pray it will inspire others to continue the work and may it be here for the next 100 years.”
Once a vibrant hub of community life, the structure had fallen into serious disrepair over the years.
Jeff Stone, chair of the Arts Council Restoration Project Committee and engineering consultant for the project, remembers visiting the building in the mid-1980s and seeing rainwater pouring down its interior walls from a leaking roof. Though the building held hundreds of stories important to Bardstown and Nelson County’s history, particularly Black history, resources to maintain it were limited.
To see it finally restored brought strong emotion.
“This is a miracle,” Stone said as he stood inside the newly renovated center. “No one thought it could happen, but it has happened. It requires patience and a will and an understanding and appreciation of what God will do if you are persistent in what you need.”
The Bowman Cherry Center, located at 403 North First Street and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, required extensive work to make restoration possible. Because of structural deterioration, much of the original building had to be demolished and reconstructed. Construction began in early July, with careful attention given to preserving the historical significance and spirit of the site. The work was completed earlier this year.
Some original elements were preserved where possible, including the restoration of a former classroom that reflects the building’s early years as a school. Photographs, school artifacts and stories of students, teachers and families whose determination helped establish the school during segregation were on display. While the center’s original sign was taken down, Sister Luke Boiarski commissioned a new sign to complement the original, unveiled during Friday’s ribbon cutting.
The project came together through a partnership between the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and the Nelson County Black Citizens Arts Council, with support from Wehr Constructors, LMH Architects, local volunteers and civic groups.
Caleb Carpenter of Wehr Constructors was among those who gathered to celebrate the reopening.
“It’s been a true honor to work on the Bowman Cherry project,” Carpenter said. “This is about so much more than a building. This place holds an important part of Bardstown’s story. It’s a part of history that should never be forgotten.”
Carpenter said projects like the Bowman Cherry Center restoration give deeper meaning to his work.
“What makes this day so meaningful is not only that something historic has been renewed, but that it will serve a community again,” he said. “The vision for the center includes education, arts, mentoring, business support and opportunities for connection across generations. This is the kind of work that leaves a lasting mark.”
“My prayer for the Bowman Cherry Center and anyone who encounters it is that they be enriched, blessed and driven to leave the people and places they interact with better than they found it.”
Today, the Bowman Cherry Center is positioned to serve as a resource for Nelson County, expanding on its historic role as a place of learning. Programs planned for the center include educational support for youth and adults, STEM programs and after-school clubs. The center will also host workshops in music, writing, and visual arts, along with performances, cultural festivals and storytelling sessions that celebrate local heritage.
Entrepreneurship will be another focus. Business mentoring programs will support young and marginalized entrepreneurs seeking to start or grow small businesses.
“This will be a place where, if you are a small, Black-owned business that’s wanting to get started, we will have seminars for you here to help you with that,” Stone said.
Through collaboration with CHI St. Joseph Health Flaget Memorial Hospital, the center will also provide wellness programming such as community health fairs and health education resources. Stone said the center is meant to be a space where people of different generations can gather, learn and share.
“This project is about creating a space for dialogue, creativity and connection,” he said. “It’s about honoring the past while building a stronger future for Bardstown.”
The restoration aligns closely with the mission of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, who have served Bardstown and beyond since 1812. Their ministry emphasizes standing in solidarity with marginalized communities, advancing justice and supporting education and opportunity.
Sister Jackulin Jesu, president of the Congregation, reflected on the deeper significance of the project.
“Rooted in a long tradition of working for justice and standing in solidarity with those who have been marginalized, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth are privileged to be part of this collaboration, one that honors the Bowman Cherry Center’s meaningful history and its future as a living, thriving space for education, creativity and community,” she said.